


Two little boys

by IzzyGo2



Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: GTVMK, Gen, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 22:33:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29908065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IzzyGo2/pseuds/IzzyGo2
Summary: Did you think I would leave you dyingWhen there's room on my horse for twoClimb up here Joe, we'll soon be flyingI can go just as fast with twoDid you say Joe I'm all a-tremblePerhaps it's the battle's noiseBut I think it's that I rememberWhen we were two little boysTim and Bertie's friendship. Based on Rolf Harris' two little boys
Relationships: Bertie & Gunpowder Tim (The Mechanisms)
Kudos: 3





	Two little boys

Tim had known Bertie for a long time. His oldest friend. Their parents were friends and Bertie was three months older. Tim had never seen a day without Bertie at his side. The days of their childhood blurred together into a stream of sunlight and play fighting and the constant echo of Bertie's endless giggling. They didn't have much but they were happy. They played hide and seek in the summers and had snowball fights in the winters. They lived in the idyll of the English working class. At least that's how they saw it at the time. Tim and Bertie's lives were full of play. They had that elusive English idyll. They knew, however, that that wouldn't last. Tim's parents never stopped working. They'd come home from their respective second jobs and collapse straight to sleep. Most of the time Tim would go round to Bertie's house for cheese sandwiches for dinner. Bertie's parents only worked one job each. It was honestly quite strange for where they lived. Bertie's dad was a manager and could handle both the rent and a portion of the shopping. Bertie's mum worked part time in a bakery. She always smelled of flour and gave the best hugs. Tim felt that Bertie's parents were just as much family as his own. That didn't mean that Tim's parents were worse. Tim loved his parents. On weekends they'd take Tim and Bertie off into the woods to make dandelion and burdock and pretend they were lords of the land. Tim knew that everything they did they did out of love.

One year both of their parents saved up to get them both wooden horses. That Christmas they all waited in Bertie's parents' living room as Tim carefully undid the string on his present as Bertie peeled back the brown paper packaging on his own. They looked at each other to check then jumped with joy at their shared happiness. Giving a quick hug to their parents they dashed outside laughing and jumping. Bertie making "clip clop" sounds with his tongue and Tim shouting "giddy up horse-ie". They played like that for a good hour or so before Tim had an idea. Tim had wanted to be a soldier since he first started primary school and saw the soldiers coming in to talk to the older students. He said to Bertie "why don't we do that?". Since that day playing soldiers was their favourite game. Today they could play at being cavalry. They marched around like that, trading command, running at imaginary enemies, until they were shouted in for tea. They enjoyed a Christmas dinner with party crowns and Christmas crackers. Tim got wildly excited by the explosions. It was a brilliant day.

6 months to the day had passed when Tim broke his horse. When he told his parents they were surprised it had lasted so long. It'd happened just after noon. The sun was bright in the sky and shone painfully in Tim's eyes as he chased after Bertie. They were running between two thick patches of brambles. The ground was still muddy from yesterday's rains and in the shade it was hard to tell the difference between mud ridge and tree root. Bertie rounded a corner and Tim knew that if he didn't catch up now then he never would. Bertie was always so fast. Tim laughed as he sped faster "I'm going to get you, Bertie!". He didn't notice he was falling 'till he felt the mud on his face. He tasted mud and his knees hurt. He winced and whined a little. Looking around he noticed his horse had broken. Tim cried. He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Hey" Bertie said "it's alright. Don't fret. You can share mine"

Two little boys had two little toys  
Each had a wooden horse  
Gaily they played each summer's day  
Warriors both of course  
One little chap then had a mishap  
Broke off his horse's head  
Wept for his toy then cried with joy  
As his young playmate said

Did you think I would leave you crying  
When there's room on my horse for two  
Climb up here Jack and don't be crying  
I can go just as fast with two  
When we grow up we'll both be soldiers  
And our horses will not be toys  
And I wonder if we'll remember  
When we were two little boys

Years passed. Tim and Bertie became young men, closer than ever. At the turn of their adulthood war was declared between the British and the Lunar Kingdom. Tim and Bertie enlisted together the day of the announcement. For all his talk of wanting to be a soldier it took Tim much longer to get used to it. Don't get me wrong, Tim had unprecedented skill with a Laser. What Tim struggled with was the mundanity. Tim's uniform was never ironed as neatly as the rest of his regiment, he was always reprimanded for leaving pockets unbuttoned or shoelaces so long he could trip someone else up. What was worse to his commanding officers was Tim's struggle with schedules. Getting Tim to get out of his bunk on a morning was almost as difficult as dragging him out of the armoury after explosives practice. Fortunately for his commanding officers Tim and Bertie were moved to a different regiment to undertake further weapons training. They spurred each other on. A perfect mix of friendship and competitiveness. 

When they finished their training they were shipped off to the moon to be part of a battalion in the second level tunnels. It was cold, dark, damp, and filled with rats. They saw that they were not what the soldiers at school had seemed to be. They took solace in that they were there together and that they still had each other. They grew to know this life as time passed. There were battles and microwave attacks and strange wooden soldiers that sang so beautifully. There was lots of singing. It was one of the best parts. They drank and gambled with the private with the weird eyeliner. It was a lot. Their new life was a lot. But it was theirs.

In one particular battle Tim and Bertie were leading an advance against the Kaiser's western legion. They were drilling into one of the Kaiser's tunnels. Bertie was really good at this bit so he charged on ahead. Tim marched behind. Out of nowhere a rumble echoed through his bones. Bertie screamed. Tim rushed to him, wild with fear. Bertie's drill had gotten caught on gods only know what. Bertie had been thrown to the ground and was shaking. After checking Bertie over for injuries, Tim said "It's alright. Don't fret. You can share mine".

Days later, when the shock and shaking of their escapades had subsided, they were left unusually alone together by Jonny and the Toysoldier. "Bertie" Tim said "I think that I remember when we were two little boys".

Long years had passed, war came so fast  
Bravely they marched away  
Cannon roared loud, and in the mad crowd  
Wounded and dying lay  
Up goes a shout, a horse dashes out  
Out from the ranks so blue  
Gallops away to where Joe lay  
Then came a voice he knew

Did you think I would leave you dying  
When there's room on my horse for two  
Climb up here Joe, we'll soon be flying  
I can go just as fast with two  
Did you say Joe I'm all a-tremble  
Perhaps it's the battle's noise  
But I think it's that I remember  
When we were two little boys

But I think it's that I remember  
When we were two little boys

**Author's Note:**

> A Rolf Harris song but we hate the guy. This song but only in the way my mum used to sing it.


End file.
